Prudence Ho and Yvonne Lee were alone with news on Sept. 30 that two of China’s biggest mining groups put in indicative bids for Glencore Xstrata’s Peruvian copper project in mid-September, in a rare case of state-owned firms vying with each other for an overseas asset. The bidding for Las Bambas– a project that could be worth over US$5 billion– shows that interest in the metal hasn’t abated even as the country’s economy slows. Getting the Peruvian mine will also give the buyer access to one of the world’s largest copper mine assets as such big assets are rarely put up for sale.

HONG KONG–Two of China’s biggest mining groups put in indicative bids for Glencore Xstrata PLC’s (GLEN.LN, GLNCY, 0805.HK) Peruvian copper project in mid-September, according to people familiar with the matter, in a rare case of state-owned firms vying with each other for an overseas asset.

China is the world’s largest buyer of copper, and the bidding for Las Bambas shows that interest in the metal hasn’t abated even as the country’s economy slows. The Peruvian mine is also an opportunity for a buyer to obtain access to one of the world’s largest copper mine assets as such big assets are rarely put up for sale.

Chinalco Mining Corp. International (3668.HK), the listed copper unit of Aluminum Corp. of China, China’s largest aluminum producer, had also expressed interest in bidding for the mine in the past, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether it has submitted a bid.

MMG and Jiangxi Copper declined to comment, while Chinalco Mining couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

The competition for the mine among state miners has surprised analysts and China watchers, who are used to seeing the government designate a specific bidder for overseas assets. Many bankers had expected the Chinese government to first decide on who would bid before allowing bids to go through, not only to prevent state firms from competing in public against each other, but also to keep them from bidding up the price during the auction process.

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